These photographs are from an extended, documentary exploration into the world of bathers, ranging from nudist hot springs in California to traditional bathhouses in eastern Europe, to hamams in Morocco, to high-tech spas in western Europe.
I viewed the baths as theatrical backdrops to explore human behaviour, particularly how people manifest themselves through physicality.
artist: Ruth Kaplan
As both voyeur and participant I was able to gain access to environments often considered private. Using a medium format camera and film the process was not quick or on-the-sly.
Issues of privacy and image-use were centered around trust of my intentions, unlike today, with image dispersion being immediate, far-reaching and very difficult to control. This project assumes an innocence in comparison.
